A new view of autism in the workplace

People on the autism spectrum see the world differently. They may notice anomalies where others do not, and be exceptionally attuned to details. They may conceive solutions their neurotypical teammates miss — yet nearly half of 25-year-olds with autism have never held a paying job.

Where others see disability, IBM sees potential. In 2017, IBM partnered with Specialisterne, a global enterprise devoted to neurodiversity employment. Together they launched IGNITE ASD to bring autistic individuals into application testing and quality services roles, where they help IBM customers build better software.